FEBRUARY 18, 2010 ISSUE
Indoor Rec Center a Top Priority in Parks and Recreation Plan
The Watauga County Parks and Recreation master plan will guide decisions about recreation facilities over the next decade.
Watauga County has wasted no time in pursuing the top recommendation of the recently adopted Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Systemwide Plan—the construction of an indoor recreation center.
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners voted February 16 to request $12 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds from the federal government to build up to an 80,000-square-foot indoor recreation facility. The bonds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in 2009, better known as the federal economic stimulus package.
Plans for an indoor recreation center are by no means a done deal, however, as the county does not know if the stimulus bonds request will be approved.
The purpose of the Parks and Recreation plan, adopted by the commissioners on January 19, is to guide Watauga County decisions regarding recreation facilities over the next decade—2010 to 2019. A master plan is often necessary to be eligible for grant funding.
The plan was developed based on input from a needs assessment survey administered by ASU last fall, interviews with staff and stakeholders and from community meetings.
According to the plan, “the need for indoor recreation opportunities was expressed as a priority by virtually all input methods.” The plan cited the county’s climate and needs for multi-use gym space, aquatics areas, office space and meeting space as reasons for building an indoor recreation center.
An indoor recreation center has been a top goal in the country for some time. A task force was formed in the mid- to late-1990s to create a plan for a county recreation center, but without funding, the project lost momentum and faded. A recreation center was also a top priority in the last Parks and Recreation master plan adopted in 1999, said Parks and Recreation Director Stephen Poulos.
The county’s current swimming pool does not meet the depth requirements for diving, and an indoor recreation center could also provide space needed for additional summer, afterschool and snow-day programs, Poulos said.
“To have some place like that would be a tremendous asset to the community,” he added.
The Watauga Medical Center’s Broyhill Wellness Center provides many of the facilities envisioned for a county recreation center, but its fees are beyond the income of some county residents, the plan states.
The new Watauga High School, which is scheduled to open in August 2010, was designed with a two-acre space included that could accommodate a future county indoor recreation center.
Another recommendation of the master plan is the expansion of walking trails, with consideration for other uses such as biking, pets, rollerblades, etc.
“Ideally, walking trails should be geographically distributed as widely as possible in the county because trail use is often a casual activity and short in duration,” the plan states. “Citizens are not likely to drive far to use a walking trail.”
The plan advocates for the development of the High Country Regional Trail Plan, created in 2008 by North Carolina State Parks and the High Country Council of Governments. The Regional Trail Plan includes the extension of the North Carolina Mountains to Sea Trail from Blowing Rock to Ashe County; the Middle Fork Greenway between Boone and Blowing Rock; the Northwest Peaks Trail connecting public parks along Rich Mountain, Snake Mountain and Elk Knob; the New River Trail along the South Fork of the New River; and other trails.
Other possible walking trails include an extension of the Boone Greenway Trail to Brookshire Park, the extension of the Greenway to the ASU campus and a trail from the New Market area to the new Watauga High School.
The master plan also recommends the construction of a picnic shelter and outdoor basketball court at Brookshire Park; purchasing land for Rocky Knob Park, a project planned by the Watauga Tourism Development Authority that calls for mountain bike trails, hiking trails and picnic facilities to be constructed near the old landfill; and to take advantage of existing regional recreational facilities.
ASU conducted the needs assessment survey of Watauga County residents in fall 2009 with 492 respondents, a response rate of 27.9 percent. Three community input meetings were held throughout the county in December. About 20 people attended each meeting.
An additional public hearing was supposed to be held at a commissioners’ meeting prior to adoption of the plan, but the commissioners adopted the plan without a hearing because the plan needed to be in place in time to apply for a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant for Rocky Knob Park.
Poulos said the Parks and Recreation Department is working to get a copy of the master plan online. For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 828-264-9511.
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